Google updates Translate to fit iOS 7 and new handwriting tools for more languages

Google in recent years has made great strides to improve the use of its services on an Apple iPhone or iPad, but the company has been less active when it comes to fitting those apps into iOS 7. Today, Google got closer to completing that goal by updating Translate.

Translate for iOS has been updated with new handwriting tools for Arabic, Esperanto, Gujarati, Hebrew, Javanese, Maltese, Maori, Marathi, Persian, Punjabi, Telugu, and Zulu. That's great for languages that don't rely on alphabets common used in keyboards. This should make it easier for native speakers to enter those characters and receive a translation.

Speaking of keyboards, 9to5Mac notices that the app also uses the iOS 7 keyboard. It's a welcome upgrade from Google, which has been very slow to update its apps to fit into iOS 7. Google Music, Gmail, YouTube, and the Google search app were quick to be updated, but a few second tier services like Google Voice and Hangouts remain with the older keyboards.